The Sweetest Thing I Know
by warriorsaralance
Summary: Sara has a nightmare and goes to Leonard because she doesn't want to be alone. Slowly but surely, they develop a sort of sleeping habit together and grow closer.
1. The Sweetest Thing I Know

**A/N: this is completely unedited and slightly messy, but i just needed some fluff after that episode.**

 **slightly based on the song "Hearts Don't Break Around Here" by Ed Sheeran.**

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They've been playing this dance for far too long.

Bickering all the time, their flirting having become so bad that even the most ignorant members of the team have picked up on it. Yes, even Stein.

But when faced with their feelings for one another, they both run.

Neither of them have talked about any of the things that have happened between them.

The flirting, growing closer before the Oculus.

 _Me and you._

The Oculus.

The kiss.

The after the Oculus.

Him being corrupted by the Legion.

Him hurting her.

Her making him remember.

They've been dancing around all of it, both too scared to reach across the ocean that has been created between them and reach out to the other.

Both too scared of drowning.

They see each other first thing every morning, making each other coffee and breakfast. They look out for each other during missions, and on the rare occurrences where there are no missions, they play cards and talk. About everything but _that_.

And he'd be lying if he said it didn't bother him. He'd be lying if he said that every time their hands touched - no matter how briefly - he didn't feel the urge to hold hers. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss her.

They spend every waking minute with each other. She's the last thing he sees before they both go to their separate bedrooms. To their separate beds.

He wakes up in the middle of the night, several months after he canme back to the team. His eyes are still closed, but he can hear the soft tip-tap of Sara's feet on the cold metal floor. He can't stop the soft smile spreading on his face, knowing that if the former assasin didn't want him to hear her, he wouldn't.

"Len?" she whispers.

He rolls on his side, facing her and opens his eyes, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the problem, Canary?"

She smirks a little at the nickname, but her expression quickly falls. She bites her lips and looks down at the ground. "I…" She sighs. "Nevermind. It was stupid coming here, sorry for waking you."

They might have avoided feelings since the Oculus, both for their own reasons, but she's _here_ , and it feels like the break from their cycle that he's been waiting on for so long. He wants more with Sara, more than friends, than flirting, and although it absolutely terrifies him, he finds that with her, he's willing to try.

"Hey." She's standing just close enough for him to reach out to her from his bed and grab her hand. "What's up?"

"I…" She looks up at him, and only now can he see the tears in her eyes. "I had a nightmare."

He shifts, sitting up a little and feeling the tingle that's sent down his spine when his skin hits the ice cold air in the waverider. He looks at Sara, standing there in a thin pyjama shirt and shorts, with bare feet and he can't imagine how cold she must be.

He's still holding her hand, rubbing soft circles on it with his thumb. "About what?"

"Laurel." she replies shortly, biting her lip.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He looks back up at her, and sees a vulnerable look in her bright blue eyes that he saw only once before. Memories of the Oculus fill his head, but he closes his eyes and urges them away.

She shakes her head. "I just didn't want to be alone."

He lets her hand go and crawls back into bed, then pats the space next to him. "Come here."

She smiles softly and crawls into bed next to him. He reaches out and wipes away a few stray tears from her cheek. "Thank you." She whispers.

"Of course." He whispers back.

She curls into him, placing her head on his torso and wrapping one of her arms around him. He pulls the blanket up, covering the both of them with the soft and warm material, and grabs the hand that is wrapped around him.

He kisses the top of her hair and whispers: "Goodnight, White Canary."

"Goodnight, Captain Cold."

He listens to her steady breathing, until he's sure that she's sleeping peacefully before he closes his eyes and lets sleep take over.

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 **A/N: if you ask me nicely, i might just write more of this ;)**


	2. Took My Heart Upon a One Way Trip

**A/N: soooo this is kind of (really) short. i wanted to add something else but it got way too long and decided to split it into two chapters, so you have at least one more chapter to look forward to after this! ;)**

 **i want to thank every person who took the time to review this little fic, because i've never had so many comments on a fic and it made me so so happy to know that people read and like my fanfiction! you are all so sweet and wonderful and i love you!**

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The next morning he wakes up to an empty bed. He isn't really surprised that she left before he woke up, but he can't ignore the sting in his heart.

Still, it's _something_.

And he'd be damned if he let the opportunity go to waste.

He slips out of bed and pulls on some jeans and a shirt before making his way to the kitchen. It's still early and most of the team is probably still asleep, so the ship is still quiet except for the soft humming of the engines.

It reminds him a bit of the warehouses he and Mick used to hide in after finishing jobs and needing to lay low. He always hated those warehouses, hated having to move around all of the time and having nothing to hold on, no place to call home.

The waverider, however, has begun to feel more like home every day and he muses it might have something to do with the blonde he'd shared a bed with last night.

The thought terrifies him, because he knows there's a reason why he never had a home and never got attached. Being a most wanted criminal is a dangerous position to have, and the risk hasn't really declined since becoming a time travelling vigilante.

Hell, they've both died at least once.

He promised himself that he wouldn't get too attached. He already had so many strings on him.

Lisa. Mick.

Strings that could be used against him.

But the moment he laid eyes on her, he knew that he blew it.

"Morning." The familiar voice pulls him out of his thoughts, and he looks up to find Sara at the kitchen counter smiling at him over a cup of coffee. She nods towards the coffee maker. "I left you some."

"Thanks." He makes his way towards the coffee maker and pours himself a cup before adding two sugars.

She smirks at him. "Sweet tooth."

He leans on the counter across from her, their faces just inches apart. "Can't help it." He replies.

She glances down at the steaming cup in her hands. "I'm sorry for leaving this morning."

"It's fine. I'm not big on cuddling anyways."

The smirk returns to her face. "I remember quite the contrary last night."

"It was cold."

Sara hums. "Keep telling yourself that." She takes a last sip of her coffee and puts the mug in the sink. "I'm going to work out."

He raises an eyebrow. "Have fun."

"I will." She winks at him and waves shortly before disappearing around the corner, on her way to the training room.

He shakes his head and takes another sip of the coffee. This woman was going to be the death of him.

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 **A/N: comments feed my muse ;)**


	3. Love the Way That You Conquer Your Fear

**A/N:** **there's another chapter! hallelujah! this is a bit longer than the previous ones and also a tiny bit angstier (all is well in the end, i promise) so that's why it took be a bit longer to write!**

 **thanks again everyone so much for reviewing! you bring a smile to my face and motivate me to write more! hope you like this!**

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In the afternoon, they're playing a game of cards in the library when Rip interrupts them. There were no missions today, so the team was enjoying their day off, which mostly included watching movies for Nate, Amaya and Ray, tinkering on the ship for Rip, Mick and Jax and reading for Stein. Leaving the crook and the assassin.

She'd spent a lot time training, and during those hours he would read a book or join Nate, Amaya and Ray in their movie marathons so he could make fun of Ray.

The hours where she wasn't training, however, were mostly spent playing cards with him.

"Sara, if I could have a word with you please?"

Leonard would usually use moments like this to make snarky comments to Rip, but the expression on his face tells him to hold those comments in.

Sara glances at him for a second, her eyes full with worry, before settling on Rip. "Um, yeah sure." She puts down her cards, stands up and follows Rip out of the room.

He doesn't follow her, figuring that it's probably some captain-related subject they need to discuss, and instead goes to the brig only to find the rest of the team waiting there, with concerned looks on their faces.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know…" Ray looks more worried than the others, scared even. "Felicity got in contact with us. Told us she needed to talk to Sara."

He doesn't exactly know who Felicity is - of course, he'd heard stories of Team Arrow, but he hadn't met any of them - but he knows that they wouldn't use the expensive and complicated communication system without a proper reason.

"About what?" He asks.

Ray looks at him, a pitying look in his eyes. "About Laurel."

Leonard doesn't say another word to him, just turns around and stalks away to find Sara.

He goes to the library first, but only finds Rip there with a haunted expression on his face.

"What happened?" Leonard demands.

Rip gestures to the screen, which now only has the notification "Call ended" on it. "A friend for Star City called. They thought that Laurel was alive, but it's her from another earth." He quickly informs the crook.

Leonard can tell there's more to the story, but doesn't push the subject. Instead he goes to Sara's room, knowing that whatever it was, if it's something related to her sister, it's enough for him to worry.

He asks Gideon to open the door to her room, and the AI does, thankfully. Despite his career of choice, he's not really a fan of sneaking into people's places, especially if it concerns people he cares about.

He finds her sitting on her bed, with tears streaming down her face. She looks up at him and the moment her eyes meet she lets out a shuddering breath before leaping into his arms.

He's taken back by the action, but he refuses to let it show in any way, instead wrapping his arms around her and cradling her head. He might still be adjusting a little to physical contact, but he'd be damned if he'd show her any of that and not be there for her fully.

So he holds her while she cries, his shirt being soaked with her tears. Once she finally catches her breath, she steps away from him and wipes the hair out of her face. "Sorry about that." She whispers, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I might have to get a new shirt, but it's fine." He assures her.

The corner of her lip quirks a little at the remark and she looks back up at him, her eyes rimmed red from the tears.

"Wanna tell me what happened?"

She sits back on the bed and Leonard sits next to her, their sides touching just a little.

"Felicity, she um," Sara takes a deep breath, "She called to tell me about Laurel. She's back, but-" Her eyes fill with tears. "It's not really her. She's from another earth and she teamed up with this evil speedster to kill Barry, before moving to Star City to help Prometheus, who has been trying to kill Oliver."

"That doesn't sound like your sister." Leonard replies, moving to rub circles on her back. He's heard all the incredible stories about Laurel Lance and all the good she's done, both as a lawyer and as Black Canary.

She shakes her head. "It doesn't. It's not. It's not her."

"But she still feels like your sister." Leonard continues. He thinks about Lisa, and he can't imagine how he must feel if she died and an alternate version of her would suddenly be standing in front of him. Of course he'd be happy to see his sister, but at the same time, it wasn't really her, was it? He'd feel so conflicted about the entire situation, it would most likely break his heart.

"Yeah." Sara agrees. "She wasn't just evil, you know. She's lost everything, in that universe."

"In the other universe, I _did_ go on the boat with Oliver, but neither one of us made it back alive. So she moved to Central City to get away, became a metahuman and was forced to join Zoom's army."

Leonard perks up at the name, having heard about the creepy speedster through his sister.

She sniffles and Leonard wraps an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

They stay like that, her wrapped up in his arms for a while, but are eventually interrupted by Gideon, informing them that a new mission requires their attention.

"You ready?" He asks.

She smiles a little at him, appreciating how worried he seems. "Yeah."

That evening, Sara doesn't come to visit Leonard. He isn't sure whether to be happy about this, because this probably means that she hasn't had another nightmare, or disappointed, because she'd been there the last couple of nights and they had both slept better than they had in years.

He ends up feeling both of these things.

After he'd stayed up later than usual, secretly hoping for her to show up anyways, he climbs out of bed and leaves his room.

He hesitates in front of her door. Maybe he's read this all wrong, and the sleepovers were really just nothing more than not wanting to be alone, and now she doesn't need him.

He takes a deep breath, then whispers ' _fuck it_ ' under his breath and opens the door to her room.

She's curled up in bed, buried under several blankets to block out the cold of the temporal zone. One eye perks open and when she sees it's him, she smirks.

"I've been wondering when you'd show up."

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 **A/N:** **this is such an unexpected fic for me but its frankly so adorable and i can't stop adding things to it. if you wanna see more, let me know! comments feed my muse 3**


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